Friction-clutch for shafts.



J. S. WERTN.

FRICTION CLUTCH FOR SHAFTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-23.19I4.

Patented J 11116 18, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

W a w W in J. S. WERTIN.

FRICTION CLUTCH FOR SHAFTS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented June 18, 1918.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 23, 19l4- WM L0OO FRICTION-CLUTCH FOR SHAFTS.

Application filed December 23, 191a.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN S. WER'IIN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Ookedale, in the county of LasAnimas and State ofyColorado, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Friction- Ulutches for Shafts, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to shaft clutches and is more particularlyconcerned with a friction clutch for gradually uniting a driving shaftto a driven shaft.

As a principal object, this invention contemplates the provision of aclutch of the type set forth which shall absorb all shocks incident tothe coupling of a driven shaft with a previously stationary shaft whosei11- ertia resists the motion imparted by such eouplingand to alsoprovide a. clutch which is incapable of causing a sudden engagementbetween the mentioned shafts.

A. further object is to provide means including a worm, its meshing wormwheel and a threaded cylinder, movement of which is governed by thelatter, which may be manually manipulated to cause the gradualengagement. of a pair of shafts equipped with a friction clutch of thischaracter, such operating mechanism being readily eontrollable todisengage the portions of the clutch when'it is desired to thoroughlyinspect the same.

A still further object is to provide a group of rollers in a clutch ofthe mentioned type which shall receive the primary frictional pressureof the clutch engagement without immediately transmitting the same tothe stationary shaft but which shall also be eapable of graduallyeffecting such transmission in full.

It is an object of equal importanceto provide a novel hanger for theclutch and its operating mechanism which shall always tend to occupy thenecessary alined position with respect to the shafts in which only thereis to be found complete absence of torsional strain and side thrustthereupon, means also being provided for adjusting this hanger and themechanism supported thereby with respect to each other.

The above and additional objects which will become apparent as thisexplanatory descrip tion proceeds, are accomplished by such means as areillustrated in the accompany ing drawings, described in the followingapeslilfiiittlfin' and than more particularly Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented June 1d, 191%.

Serial No. 878,779.

pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part ofthis application.

With reference to the drawings, wherein there is illustrated thepreferred embodiment of this invention as it is reduced to practice andthroughout the several views of which like characters of referencedesignate similar parts:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken entirely through theclutch members and their adjuncts as comprising the frictional clutch ofthe invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on the line 22 ofFig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of a portion of the matter disclosed inFig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane indicated bythe line it-4: of Fig. 1, and enlarged.

In the application of the friction clutch of this invention to a drivingand a driven shaft, these latter may be considered to be denoted by thenumerals 5 and 6 respectively.. These shafts are axially alined andtheir adjacent extremities are spaced from each other. The end 7 of thedriving shaft 5 is adapted to carry a socket jaw 8 which is keyed uponits shaft and includes the supporting stem 9, provided with suitablethreaded apertures 10 for the reception of set screws (not shown)whereby the jaw is maintained upon its shaft, the head of the jaw beingformed with the frusto-conical recess designated by the numeral 11 andadapted to receive the mating portion of the opposite clutch member.

Into the extremity of the driven shaft 6 there is threaded the shank 12of the friction block 18, which is pyramidal in form with its sideshollowed out to embrace'a considerable area of the rollers 17 whenfrictionally engaged therewith and oppositely disposed as regards therecess 11, the head tapering toward its inner end with the tapercorresponding to the angle of the wall of the mentioned recess 11. Thereis splined upon this shaft 6 the cylindrical member 14, being adapted torotate therewith and also adapted for longitudinal sliding movementthereon, such member being threaded upon both of its extremities andreceiving upon its clutch end, the chuck 15, to which are secured shafts16 in the manner clearly shown in Fig. l, at the extremities of per-'pendicular diameters of said chuck and begrouped around the mentionedfriction head 13, the latter of which is formed with suitable concavedsurfaces for holding such rollers and of a concentric curvaturetherewith to .enable the head to perform the function ofv a brake uponeach of these rollers as Will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

The chuck 15 is formed with the central aperture 19 and with theperipherally located grease cups .20 provided .with suitable closures 21and with communicating ducts 22 leading to the terminus of the shafts16, it being understood that .the ducts 23 conne'ct with the small oilducts 22 formed in the chuck "15 and extending longitudinally of saidshafts 16,.thereby thoroughly lubrieating the latter and assuring freerotation of said rollers 17 upon said shafts 16. These shafts 16 areprovided with exterior retaining means 23 and removablecap screws 24which prevent dislodgment of the rollers 17 from their shafts 16in themanner obviously necessary.

Sincethe operating mechanism for effecting longitudinal movement of thecylinder '14 with relation to the shaft6 is necessarily stationary andsince this shaft is adapted to rotate,.bearings must necessarily besupplied between these separate parts of the clutch. These'bearingsinclude at one end of the cylinder a rotatable member 25 which issecured by set screws 26 extending through the annular flange 27 of thechuck15 and into engagement with thethreaded extremity of the cylinder14. A ball race is formed in one face of this rotatable bearing, suchrace including an integral and outwardly extending ball cage 28projecting beyond the ball bearings 291Vl1l0l1 v are mountedin suchrace, this cage together with the similar cage 30 0f the stationarymember 31 being adapted' to sustainthe. thrust which would otherwise bedrawn entirely upon the balls 29. The stationary bearing member 31 isadapted to abut the adjacent extremity of the guiding cylinder '32,being formed with the annular socket portion 33 overlying. the saidcylinder end and secured to the latter by means of suitable screws 34.

The cylindrical operating member 32 is provided with the square screwthreads 35 with which there is adapted to mesh the similarly formedthreads 36 carried interiorly of the worm wheel 37 in the mannerillustrated, such worm Wheel being adapted to. mesh withan operatingworm 38 mounted on its shaft 39 as more particularly illustrated in Fig.2. This shaft 39 is mounted in the split bearings 40, which latter aretransversely alined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the clutchand which are provided with the downwardly extending the split bearings40 and carries the hand Wheel 46 at its extended extremity in order toprovide a ready means for manually ma nipulating the worm in itsadjuncts. The hearing portions 41 are formed with outwardly extendingthreaded pins 47 at their lower extremities which are received in thesuitably threaded sockets 48 carried at the extremities of thesubstantially U-shaped bracket 49 serving to mount the clutch mechanism.The shafts 42 above mentioned are supported in bosses 50 carried lat-verally of the non-rotatable bearing portion 31 and by the similarlyformed bearing portions 51 carried at the opposite extremity of thecylinder 32 and like the first mentioned bearing provided with theantifriction balls 52 which are interposed between said cylinder 32 anda rotatable bearing member 53 connected to the outermost threadedextremity of the cylinder 14.

The U-shaped mounting 49 for the clutch mechanism is provided with acentral and integral eye 54 through which is received the stem 55 of thehanger member proper 56 in such manner as to effect what is practicallya swivel joint between the hanger and the mounting 49. A washer 57 andsecuring nut 58 prevent displacement of the U-shaped portion withrespect to the Stem 55. A threaded shank 59 is carried by the hangerportion 56 for reception in the iuterioi'ly threaded base portion 60 inorder to afford the hanger an obvious vertical adjustment.

Side braces 61 may also be provided for the 1 central hanger and beadjustable therewith by means of an obvious turn buckle movement 62.

As a means of lubricating the bearing members and the ball races thereare provided the oil cups 63 each of which is supported immediately overthe ball race in the oil guards 64 which are secured as indicated at 34and 65, respectively, to the nonrotatable bearing members. oil guardssurrounds the rotatable member of one of the bearings and has itsnon-secured edge bent up to form a gutter to prevent waste of the oiland conducting the same to the lower portion indicated at 66 Each ofthese from which the superfluous oil may be drained off in pet cocks 67.Oil passages 68 between the members 51 and 53 lead from the ball racesto a communicating oil channel 69 whereby the luhricatingmaterial isconducted to various points of use as illustrated. Should the oilgathering in the lower part of each oil guard not be drained off throughthe cook 67, it will be obvious that the rotating bearing, members 25and 53 respectively will gather up a portion of this oil and causethesame'to be employed in lubricating the movable parts of the device. J a

In operation, considering the shaft 5 to be driven, if it is desired todrive the shaft 6 therefrom the hand wheelil-ti is so turned, as tooperate the worm 38 and consequently the worm wheel 37 which will thenhave a tendmember 32 but which will be prevented from longitudinalmovement thereupon by means of the mentioned stops or guards 45, so thatsuch movement will be transmitted directly to the member 32 in order tolongitudinally shift the entire mechanism with relation to the shaft 6and to the jaw 8. Upon the first v contact with the walls of the recess11, by

the rollers 18, a tendency will be given these to rotate, which tendencywill be checked or braked by the, friction head 13, as these rollers arepushed forwardly into contact with with respect to the clutch mechanismproper. As the engaging movement of the hand wheel 46 is increased, itwill be obvious that the brake power exerted by this head will alsoincrease as will the frictional pressure between the rollersand thejawmember and it will be apparent from a perusal of theforegoingdescription in connection with the drawings and particularlywith Fig. lithat the rotation of the shock absorbing cones 18 i willgradually be: lessened until they are forced into atight engagement withboth the jaw and the head member enabling the movement of the former tobe transmitted to the latter which will of course effect the desiredrotation of the shaft 6. i g i' y,

It will be seen. that the engaging movement is very gradual and that noshocks to the driven shaft are transmissible through this clutch due tothe sudden strain of the load deposited thereupon and it shouldtherefore be apparent that means have been disclosed as comprehended bythis invention whereby the previously presented objects may be attainedso that this invention may therefore beclaimed as possessing theadvantages and desirability set forth in such objects.

While in the foregoing however, there has thus been illustrated in thedrawings and described in the specification, such co1nbination andarrangement of elements as constitute the preferred embodiment of this"invention, it is desired to emphasize the fact that such minor changesin the matter of proportion and degree may be made in later adaptationsof this device as shall not alter thc spirit of the inventionas definedin the shafts, a friction head carried by the other of said shafts, achuck surrounding said. head, coned rollers rotatably mounted on saidchuck, means rotatably mounting sald chuck on said head, and means foreffecting a longitudinal movement of both said chuck and said rollers.ency to travel upon its' meshing cylinder 2. In a friction clutch ofthetype described, the combination with a pair of alined shaftsspaced fromeach other, of

a, socket member carried by one of said shafts, a coned friction headcarried bythe other of said shafts, a chuck surrounding said head, conedrollers rotatably mounted onsaid chuck and adapted to establish acontact between said socket, member and sa d head, means rotatablymounting said chuck,

and means for moving said chuck and said i rollers to establish thecontact between said socket member and said head. such head, which, isof course, stationary 3.- In a friction clutch of the ty'pedescribed,the combination with a pair of alined shaftsspaced from each other, of asocketmember earned by one of sa d shafts and provided with a conicalrecess, a fric- {tion'head carried by the other of said shafts ing alongitudinal movement ofsaid chuck with respect to mislead and' saidsecond shaft, and rollers carried by saidchuck for interposition betweensaid head and said socketjmcniber and capable-of an independi entrotation with respect to said chuck.

4. A friction clutch of the type described including, in combination,a'pair of shafts spaced fromeach other, a conically recessed socketmember carried by one of sa d shafts,

a conically formed friction head carried by the other of said shafts anddisposed withsaid socket 11'16llll761',2t cylindrical member splined onsaid second shaft, a chuck car ried by said member, coned rollerscarried by saidchuckand adapted tobe interposed between saidfrictionliead and said socket member to effect a gradual engagement ofsaid shaft, and means for manually causing longitudinal movement of saidcylindrical member to effect such movement of interposition.

5. A friction clutch of the type described including, in combination, apair otalined spaced fromeach other, abon'ically 're'aces'sed socket"member carried b ne of said shafts, an oppositely ffor'med conicalfriction he'a d by the other of said shafts and entending'into saidrecess, a'c'ylindrical 'member spline-d upon said second shaft, a chuckcarried by said cylindrical member, coned rollers carried by said'ch'uck, bearing portions "secured to said chuck and said eylindi icalmember and adapted to ro- 'tate therewith, complementary tearingportions tothe first said portions but'adapted to'remain station'ary, 'athrea fd'edicylinder secured tosaid second named bearing portions, anddriving means including a inan- 'ually operable wor'm'and itswheel foreffectinglongitudinal motion with respect to said second shaft ofsaid'chuek. I t I 6.111 a friction clutch of f the *type described, the combi'iatio'n with a pair of v alined shafts spaced from other, of a socketmember 7 carried by one of'said shafts and provided withr'aconicalreces's, 'afriction head carried by the other ofs'aid'shafts,roll- 'er's mounted around said hea dfand means aseffecting longitudinal movement or said rollers with respectto the"'sec'ond m'eritione'd shaft to lock'said head with said socket e b rl vl 1 '7. In a friction clutch of the type described, the combination'With a pairfof alined shafts spacedfrom'eacl1'othe1',of a socket membercarriedby one of said shafts, a friction head carried by the otherof'said shafts, 1 rollers mounted upon the last mentioned shaft andsurrounding said'head, and means for movingsaid'rollei's'longitutlinally upon said shaft'tolocksaid head with saidsocket member.

s. A friction clutch'of the type described mcluding 1n combination, a par of shafts spaced fr'om e'ach other, a'comcally recessed socket membercarried'by one of said shafts, 'a conically formed 'frictionhead'carried by th'e other of said shafts, cone shaped rollers surroundingsaid head, meansfor mounting said r0llers' upon the second-mentionedshaft,

and "means for movingsaid rollers longitw 1 dinally of said shaft tocarry said rollers to tiosititinbetween said friction head andsaidsocket member to effect a gradual engage- 'mentof said shafts. y 1

I 9. Thecombination "with drive and driven shafts, of 'a'hollow clutchmember carried by the drive shaft, a clutchblock carrietl'by the driven"shaft, said'block beiii pyramidal in form and having its sideshollowedout to provide lad ially arranged recesses, a memberlongitudinally movable on thedriven' shaft, -conical rollers c'arried bythe longitudinally movable member and engageable' tamer the recesses insaid block -and'the hollow clutch member, and means for shiftingtheiiieniber 'longitudinallyto causethe conesto frictionv'allyfengaiethe block and hollow clutch member.

, 10.'The combination with drive and drlv'enshafts,'of a hollow clutchmember 'c-al'rri'edby the drive shaft,a tapered block carried b'y'thedriven shaft, a sleeve mounted on the driven shaft and longitudinallymov- "able" thereon, cones carried by the sleeve, said cones beingtapered in the direction opposite tothe ii'iclii'iationbf the taperedblock geart'eeth formed on the'sleeve, and a gear 1ucsl1- ing'with saidteeth and operable to effect 'slidin'g movement of the'sleeve.

11. The combination with a drive shaft and a d'riven shaft, of a hollowclutch member carried by the drive shaft, a sleeve mounted on the drivenshaft, a chuck carried by said sleeve, a second sleevelongitudinally'movable 'on thedriven shaft and connected tosaid first 'sleeve,'clutchelements carried by said chuck and adapted for frictional en- 'gage'maawith the hollow clutch member, and means for shifting the longitudinallymovable sleeve to cause the frictional enfiagemeia of the clutchelements with the i irst'named clutch member.

12. The'combination with a drive shaft and a driven shaft, of a hollowclutch memher carried by the drive shaft, a sleeve mounted o'nthe drivenshaft, bearingplates carried'by the sleeve, a second sleeve longi-'tudinally movable on the driven shaft, bear- -ingplates carriedby theends of the latter sleeve and cooperating with'the other beariiigplates, 'antifric'tion means 'betwcen the ,cboperating plates, a chuckcarried by said "first sleeve, [a plurality of friction rollers carriedby said chuck to establish a driving connection between said driving anddriven shafts 'and'mea'ns for moving said sleeve to "engage the "rollerwith the hollow clutch.

member.

13. The combination with drive and 'driven'shafts, of a hollow clutchmember carried by the drive shaft, a block carried by {the driven shaft,a chuck movable along said driven shaft, friction rollers carried bysaid chuck and insertiblebetween said block and the hollow clutchmember,a threaded sleeve 'op'erativelyconnected with said chuck and movablealong said driven shaft, a worm "wheel surrounding said sleeve andthreadcdly "engaged therewith, a support including bearing arms, a wormsupported between. said arms and meshing with the worm wheel surroundingsaid sleeve, andmeans for operatiiig saidworm. I v '14. The combinationwith drive and driven shafts, of a hollow clutch member carriedby thedrive shaft, a chuck movable along said driven shaft, rollers carried bysaid chuck and eiigageable with said hollow clutch member, a threadedsleeve movable along the driven shaft and connected with said in ichuck, a worm wheel surrounding said sleeve and having threadedengagement therewith, a support including bearing arms, a worm supportedbetween said arms and meshing with said worm wheel, means for actuatingsaid worm to rotate said worm wheel, and means for holding said wormwheel against longitudinal travel along said driven shaft.

15. The combination with drive and driven shafts, of a hollow clutchmember carried by the drive shaft, a threaded sleeve movable along thedriven shaft, a chuck movable with said sleeve, a plurality of rollerscarried by said chuck and engageable with said hollow clutch member, aworm wheel surrounding said sleeve and having threaded engagementtherewith, means for holding said worm wheel against traveling movementwith respect to the length of said sleeve and driven shaft, and meansfor rotating said worm wheel, to impart sliding movement to said sleevefor the purpose of engaging and disengaging said rollers with the hollowclutch member.

16. The combination with drive and driven shafts, of a hollow clutchmember carried by the drive shaft, a second clutch member slidablyarranged on the driven shaft and engageable with the hollow clutchmember, a threaded sleeve movable along the driven shaft and operativelyconnected with the clutch member thereon, a worm wheel surrounding saidsleeve and threadedly engaged therewith, said wheel adapted upon beingrotated to cause sliding movement of said sleeve, a support, includingbearing arms, a worm supported between said arms and meshing with theworm wheel surrounding said sleeve, means for actuating said worm torotate said worm wheel, and plates carried by said support and engagedwith opposite sides of the worm wheel to prevent said wheel fromtraveling longitudinally of said sleeve and driven shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature In presence of two witnesses.

, JOHN S. WERTIN, Witnesses:

FRED H. SPAHY, JOHN W. HOLMES.

Copies of this patent may be obtainedfor five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0.

